Last week the term ‘war’ was used by the pro-Kremlin outlets more often in different contexts. The “chemtrail” conspiracy theory was spread once again, this time it was NATO who sprayed Poland with poison, according to Russian disinformation. Read more in the latest weekly Disinformation Review.

When Shakespeare wrote the famous words “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” he pointed to the fact that what matters is what something is, not what it is called.

A war by any other name

This week in pro-Kremlin disinformation, we noticed ample usage of the term “war.” First off, the ban on Russian athletes in the upcoming Olympics was yet again described as a war on Russia. In fact, it was the systematic state-sponsored doping program in Russia that made the IOC decide to suspend certain Russian athletes. Russian athletes not convicted of doping will be allowed to compete under the Olympic flag. Hardly a war, then.

All were suggested by pro-Kremlin disinformation this week. Well, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has concluded that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government. It is safe to say that this is a war being fought on the territory of Ukraine, not in Russia.

The holy matrimony between conspiracies and disinformation

Many people have heard the conspiracy theory about chemtrails before. It is an old favorite in conspiracy outlets, re-appearing again and again. But the culprit is not always the same. Often the “chemtrails,” or as the scientific community calls them “condensation trails”, are blamed on some government-run secret program by conspiracy theorists.

This week, NATO was blamed for spraying Poland with poison via “chemtrails.” As thoroughly presented by the DFRLab, this particular conspiracy can be traced as far back as 2010. A common trait with disinformation and conspiracy theories is that there is no need to present any evidence to support the claims you make, which of course is the case also in this example.

In the words of Shakespeare, a rose would smell as sweet by any other name. Disinformation is often designed to be confusing, and the use of conspiracy theories helps out in that aspect. But in the end, you just have to look at what it is – disinformation will be disinformation, no matter how you dress it up.

Pro-Kremlin propaganda’s narratives recorded this week (all false):

Sources and descriptions of each disinformation case on this list are available on EU vs Disinfo

In Kyiv, there is not a single Russian-language school

Ukraine admits that Russian gas imports are profitable

Ukraine has legalized a genocide against the citizens of Ukraine

The exclusion of Russian athletes in the Olympics is a form of war

Foreign military instructors are preparing five battalions of Ukrainians who are almost nationalists, the aim is to attack Donbas

New law in Ukraine allows military to operate with impunity

Ukrainian military fired on a passenger bus in Donbas

The EU supplied Syrian terrorists with weapons

The West exports perversity

The US supports the Islamic State, while Russia defeated it

Norway struggles to find a substitute for the Russian fish market

Ukraine was the first to start a war against Russia

The United States of America is the only state in the world that officially supported the glorification of Nazism in the UN

NATO sprays Poland with chemtrails

Only one million people live permanently in Moldova

Immigrants are fighting a war in Sweden

Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel said that the EU had made a decision not to support the extending of sanctions against Russia

Ukraine does not implement any reforms

Europe is pretending that Russians are subhuman

There is a civil war in Ukraine

Ukraine would sell even its nuclear bomb if they still had it

The Russian Federation did not and does not wage war on the territory of Ukraine, on the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics

The ban imposed by Ukraine on the book “Stalingrad” by British historian Antony Beevor testifies that Ukraine has returned to the Stone Age of human civilization due to its ultra-nationalism

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About the Source

The EU’s East StratCom Task Force was set up by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini in 2015, in response to a request from all 28 EU Heads of Government to “address Russia’s ongoing disinformation campaigns”. It is a team of eleven communications and Russian language experts, who also seek to improve communication on EU policies towards the Eastern Neighbourhood and to strengthen media plurality in the region, especially in the Russian language.
The Task Force’s flagship products are its weekly Disinformation Review of pro-Kremlin disinformation stories and its social media accounts @EUvsDisinfo and EU vs Disinformation.

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